Service games are here to stay for many years. Especially a lot of retro feeling and nostalgia is offered by the twelve MMORPGs from this list, which already have more than 20 years under their belt and are still online. We present to you the vibrant pioneers of World of Warcraft.
Even though the genre of MMORPGs really took off with the launch of World of Warcraft in 2004 or 2005, there were already online role-playing games before that which could excite numerous players and build loyal communities.
So loyal communities that the servers of various MMORPG oldies are still online to this day. In this special, we want to remember some of these still playable pioneers of WoW. We concentrate on games that are at least 20 years old and therefore launched before April 2004.
If we have forgotten important MMORPGs from this early era that can still be experienced on official servers today, feel free to drop your recommendations in the comments. Such lists can easily be expanded.
Meridian 59
Release: December 15, 1996 | Platform: PC | Setting: Fantasy | Developer, Publisher: Open Source | Here is the official website of Meridian 59
Meridian 59 was not the first MMORPG, but it is considered the first online role-playing game with a 3D graphic client to represent the game world. All movable objects such as characters and enemies were still represented in 2D.
The gameplay initially focused primarily on PvP duels. Virtual death was severely punished – by loss of maximum health points as well as all possessions, which could be plundered by other players.
In 2000, the servers went offline due to the bankruptcy of the operators. A comeback followed in 2002. Today, you can experience the MMORPG classic in the Resurgence version, the last update was in April 2023.
Ultima Online
Release: September 30, 1997 | Platform: PC | Setting: medieval fantasy | Developer, Publisher: Broadsword, Electronic Arts | Here is the official website of Ultima Online
The iso-MMORPG of the venerable Ultima series by Richard Garriott has a tumultuous past. Since its launch, not only countless content expansions and updates have landed on the live servers, but there has also been a major overhaul and various development teams who have tried their hand at the online adventure.
Since 2014, Ultima Online has been in the hands of Broadsword, which continues to provide the MMORPG oldie with updates very regularly. However, the last major expansion was already released in 2015. New legacy servers, however, are scheduled to be announced for September 2024, which should provide a nostalgic gaming experience.
Ultima Online was the first to offer player housing and fascinated with its online world of Britannia as well as the gameplay freedoms. However, the MMORPG could also be quite frustrating when so-called player killers had their sights set on hunting newbies.
EverQuest
Release: March 16, 1999 | Platform: PC, macOS | Setting: Fantasy | Developer, Publisher: Darkpaw Games, Daybreak | Here is the official website of EverQuest
On March 16, 2024, EverQuest proudly turned 25 years old. More than 9.32 million characters were created during this time. That may sound relatively low, but in 2004 the sequel was already released, which you can also experience to this day – here is the website of EverQuest 2.
The first EverQuest relied on a persistent 3D world at launch and delivered many mechanics that are still standard in online role-playing games today. For five years, no MMORPG was more successful in the USA, 29 expansions have been released to this day – the last in December 2022.
As we know, nothing came of EverQuest Next, fans of the world of Norrath hope for EverQuest 3, which is currently in development at Daybreak and is supposed to be released in 2028.
On the next page, it’s continued.
